Well, this has been an interesting trip. I'll fill you in on all the details when I return, but in a nutshell we went whale watching and saw a small humpback family. We followed the whales out to sea in a tri-maran. Lots of pina coladas! Ole´!

We also had a romantic candlelit dinner on the beach at Los Caletas. We traveled by boat again--a catamaran this time and went to the most beautiful place lit by thousands of candles and torches. It was like being thrown back into the past. It was amazing! Dinner was awesome.

Afterward we headed back to Puerto Vallarta. Lots of music, rum punch and dancing. We sat up top this time. I have to tell you, it's not that easy to dance on an upper deck of a boat that is rocking from side to side. Yes, it was the boat and NOT the rum punch!

Well, I am on a timed internet session, so I'll log off for now.

Adios amigos!

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Hola, amigos!

Today, I'm on a great adventure with my husband. We left the house this afternoon and headed to the airport. We're going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!! Ole!

First stop, Edmonton International Airport. Met a couple of nice gals in airport security who decided that I was very special. So I was selected out of all the tens of people going through security to get the special attention of a body pat down. :) Well, Louise, the gal who got closer to me than any gal ever has, was very nice and very polite.

And of course, me being the "serious" person that I am, had to have a bit of fun. I mean, there's nothing like being frisked in the airport. When Louise asked if I had any medical devices and I told her I left my wooden leg at home. When she got to my neck, I asked for a neck massage. :)

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I mentioned that I had been in the Chapters store right across from them recently for a book signing and watched a woman get patted down and metal detectored. :) The next thing I knew I was shaking the two gals' hands and giving out bookmarks. I really wanted to give Louise a signed copy of Whale Song. I have extra copies of all my books in my carry-on so I can give some away during the trip. But airport security are not allowed to accept gifts. DRAT!

Oh, and for anyone traveling across any borders, they've changed the rules--again. So don't think you know exactly what to put in those bins. Nothing major, but boy I thought we were so organized, only to discover that half the things we put in the bins were not quite right.

After I was done being frisked, I told Louise and her supervisor (sorry, I didn't get your name) that the Chapters bookstore had all of my books.

Louise? I checked. There's an autographed copy of Whale Song on the top shelf of the Canadian books. :) I hope you get it.

Now we're waiting for our flight...Regina first, then on to Puerto Vallarta.

I will have to brush up on my limited Spanish.

Dos margaritas, por favor. Dos mohitos, por favor. Gracias!!! ;-)

Cheryl Kaye Tardif,

reporting live from the Edmonton International Airport.

It is said that every person has at least one good story in them! Some people are gifted to have more than one.

Do you know a future writer – someone who dreams of writing fiction, poetry, or short stories? Maybe that future writer is…you! If you dream of writing, then why not write?

Why not Dare to Dream…and Dream BIG?

There once was a young girl who dreamed of becoming a writer. Her goal was to become the next Stephen King…or 'Stephanie', at least. When she was about 16, she started writing a novel. It took her over a year to complete it and at 17, she tried to find a publisher. She submitted query letters, partial manuscripts…and her dreams, for other people to judge. She received rejection letter after rejection letter.

The first strike against her was that she had very few published works – a few town articles in a small local paper were her only credit. The second strike against her was that she was Canadian, struggling to get into a predominantly American market. 95% of the major, big-league publishing companies were American. She hit a brick wall – hard.

For the next few years, she wrote mostly poetry until she submitted a health and beauty article and landed another column in a small newspaper. And then a year or so later she ended up in a New Brunswick newspaper, as the writer of a song dedicated to the Gulf War soldiers. This was the first indication that she had power – power to influence people's emotions, to make them feel something.

Years passed as she struggled to find a way to make her dream come true, to be that writer. She continued to write, took a course in journalism/short story writing and graduated with a 98% average. She wrote two children's books, complete with illustrations and tried desperately to get them published. They became her 'babies', her creations. Her children's books were well received in schools when she did readings, but no one seemed interested in publishing them. After two years of more brick walls, she gave up trying. Her dream dissipated…died a slow death.

More years went by, until one day she was talking to a friend about a story she had always wanted to write. It was a story about a young girl who experiences a tragedy and loses part of her memory – a tale about killer whales and native legends. It was a story about wolves and dreams, love and life, death and fear…but mostly it was a story about triumph and forgiveness. Her friend told her "You need to just WRITE it! Even if it never gets published, write it for YOU!"

My friend was right! And now I am a bestselling author!

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, bestselling author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,

bestselling author of Whale Song, a novel that will change how you view life...and death.

Whale Song was first featured in the Dec. 2007 issue of Best of the West, and now it is one of just over 60 books by prairie authors or publishers to be featured in Best of the West 2007.

 

This booklet is distributed to bookstores and libraries across Canada.